Mike Vrabel looks on during press conference amid questions about potential A.J. Brown trade.
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As debate builds inside the Patriots, Mike Vrabel faces growing questions over the cost of a potential A.J. Brown trade.
Questions are beginning to surface inside the New England Patriots about the true cost of a potential trade for star wide receiver A.J. Brown, one leading Patriots analyst said Friday, noting that debate is growing over whether surrendering a first-round pick — along with taking on significant salary and risk — is a move the organization can fully support.
What’s complicating the push is that the hesitation isn’t coming from outside the building — it appears to be coming from within it.
The new analysis suggests that while Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel is willing and ready to trade a first-round pick for the 28-year-old Brown, other top New England decision-makers may not be as willing to pay that price.
And that’s where the real complications in this situation begin.
Why Would the Patriots Refuse to Trade a First-Round Pick?
The situation is only complicated by the fact that for salary cap reasons, Brown appears highly unlikely to be traded by the Philadelphia Eagles before June 1. That date falls more than five weeks after this year’s NFL draft — meaning that the Patriots would be looking at trading their 2027 first-round draft pick.
Because they got all the way to the Super Bowl and lost last season, the Patriots hold the 31st overall pick in the first round on April 23 this year. But if they agree to trade their 2027 first-round pick for Brown, the Patriots have no way of knowing which pick they will be trading.
The Patriots finished 4-13 in both 2023 and 2024, giving them the No. 3 and No. 4 overall draft picks — selections they used to take quarterback Drake Maye and offensive lineman Will Campbell. In 2022 the Patriots finished 8-9. They used the 17th overall pick to take Pro Bowl cornerback Christian Gonzalez.
While the Patriots would not expect to post another mediocre record after a 14-3 2025 campaign, the fact is, at this point they just don’t know what they would be giving up for Brown.
Is There Division Inside the Patriots on Trading For Brown?
Speaking on the WEEI Radio program Jones and Keefe on Friday morning, analyst and co-host Adam Jones said that he believed that inside the Patriots front office, “not everybody’s on board with adding A.J. Brown.”
“Maybe they all like A.J. Brown, but Vrabel’s ready to give up the first-round pick and not everyone is,” Jones said on the broadcast. “Or maybe everyone’s not sold on his medicals or how he’d fit into the team. I mean, I don’t know what the hold-up is.”
A report earlier this week stated that the Los Angeles Rams were also in the trade market for Brown, but were “scared off” when they saw medical reports on the three-time Pro Bowl receiver’s knees.
As for his “fit,” Brown has been outspokenly critical of the Eagles. And while Brown has not publicly stated any desire to be traded from the Eagles, a report by top ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter on Thursday appeared to confirm that Brown has, in fact, informed Eagles brass that he wants to be moved out of Philadelphia.
Would a trade for Brown give the 2026 Patriots a better chance of a return trip to the Super Bowl? Most experts stop short of that assertion, but the consensus appears to be that Brown would instantly make the Patriots better by giving Maye a legitimate deep-threat receiver.
“If the Patriots get A.J. Brown,” said former NFL Pro Bowl wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh on the Speakeasy podcast Thursday, “they’re going to be a problem.”
Whether the Patriots ultimately move forward with a deal for Brown could come down to how those internal questions are resolved in the coming days — with new details already beginning to surface about the team’s next move.